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Pharmaceutical Aids
The substances which are essentially used in manufacturing or compounding of various pharmaceutical dosages form is called as pharmaceutical aids. It helps in masking the unpleasant odour, taste, and flavour of any dosages form and made to more elegant during the dosages administration.
Drugs are the preparation which contains the active pharmaceutical ingredients and excipients (colouring, flavouring, sweetening agents, preservatives etc). Excipients are also known as the pharmaceutical aids. Pharmaceutical aid or excipients shown no or little pharmaceutical effect but it play an important role to modifying the drugs dosages form (tablets, capsule, syrups, emulsion, solution etc).
Example of pharmaceutical aids contains– colouring agents, sweetening agents, emulsifying agent, suspending agents, flavouring agents, diluents, lubricants etc.
Importance/ Application of pharmaceutical aids
- It helps in masking the unpleasant odour, taste, and colour etc.
- It insures safe, efficiency, reproducible, and convenient manner of drug delivery.
- Pharmaceutical aids increase the shelf life of the drugs.
- It protects the chemical changes and microbial action of main API, they include antibacterial agents and antioxidants.
- Due to involvement of the pharmaceutical aids we design the different form of shape, size of the dosages form.
- It is overcomes the patients inconvenience and helps in manufacturing, to design attractive dosages form.
Ideal characteristics of the Pharmaceutical aids
- It does not change chemical nature of the drugs.
- It is does not cause any toxic effects.
- Masking the unpleasant colour, odour, and taste.
- During administration it does not cause any allergic reactions.
- Overcomes the patient inconvenience.
- It prevents the microbial activity or contamination in the pharmaceutical products.
- It improves the shelf life of the products.
- It works on low concentration. Cheap and easily available.